


at the end there’s you and me

by CarbonFootprint



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: A lot of kissing, Body Worship, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 03:08:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6735634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarbonFootprint/pseuds/CarbonFootprint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Leo figured that was the moment that he realized he loved Takumi. Seeing the archer fight with his hair swirling all around him, a silvery wave that followed all of his movements, the heat of battle sparking sharp light in his amber eyes, that was the turning point in his heart, the instant that he knew he wanted to see that sight forever."</p><p>Leo really loves Takumi's hair (and the rest of Takumi too)</p>
            </blockquote>





	at the end there’s you and me

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN THIS MUCH FLUFF IN MY LIFE
> 
> I blame Steph and Joo because I literally died while writing this like I died I love Leokumi too much and then I actually died I'm dead
> 
> Enjoy this break from all the angst I seem to write all the time <333

Typically, Leo was reserved, wary of foreign touches even from his brother and sisters. He had spent years mastering the art of avoiding Camilla’s crushing embraces or how Elise would wrap her arms around his waist and try to swing him around, which usually failed. It was just in his nature. It had always been in his nature.

With Takumi, he had no restraint.

They had first started courting during the war, but they only became more dedicated to their courtship when the fighting had stopped. Takumi was a wonderful partner, receptive and gentle, somewhat shy in his more tender interactions, a stark contrast to how he acted towards those he didn’t know or care about. That was how Leo knew the other prince cared about him.

He found Takumi to be adorable when he blushed, and the other prince’s cheeks went red often. Even when Takumi was spontaneous, he still looked bashful about his actions afterwards, but Leo didn’t mind soothing him and telling him that it was alright to want to be closer.

His own fingers itched to touch Takumi all the time.  He held none of the wary resentment to Takumi’s touches like that of what he had developed against everyone else. He wanted to kiss him, caress his cheeks, grasp his hips gently to pull him close, wrap him in his arms, and stroke fingers through his hair.

He had gotten to do all of that except the last idea. Takumi was strangely protective over his hair, and he would stiffen whenever Leo raised his fingers to try and pull the ribbon that held up his long locks. If there was any way to immediately kill any sort of mood, it would involve Leo’s fingers and Takumi’s hair.

It was frustrating, maddeningly so. He wanted to touch every part of Takumi, to caress him and whisper to him how beautiful he thought he was, but Takumi wouldn’t let him, not all the way at least.

Takumi was beautiful in his eyes. He had never laid eyes on a Nohrian man nor woman who was more lovely than Takumi. Even when he got to experience Hoshidans after the war was over, his thoughts always went back to Takumi no matter how attractive any of them were.

The only time he had seen Takumi’s hair loose of the ribbon that kept it tied up was in the heat of battle deep in the hidden kingdom. They had been ambushed in the early morning, and most of their army had emerged from their tents half-dressed but ready to fight. Apparently, that had been a night that Takumi slept well for once and he emerged from his tent with his hair messily tied up, his clothes rumpled and his eyes hazy with sleep. Towards the end of the battle, the loosely tied ribbon had finally come undone, falling away to let Takumi’s hair spill over his shoulders and down his back.

Leo figured that was the moment that he realized he loved Takumi. Seeing the archer fight with his hair swirling all around him, a silvery wave that followed all of his movements, the heat of battle sparking sharp light in his amber eyes, that was the turning point in his heart, the instant that he knew he wanted to see that sight forever.

But Takumi wouldn’t let him.

Even when they shared a bed, Takumi purposefully braided his hair tightly behind him and slept curled into Leo’s chest, his face pressed to his neck. As much as he appreciated Takumi’s soft kisses to his neck before they fell asleep and then repeated in the morning, he still wanted to bury his fingers in Takumi’s hair.

He knew the locks would have to be soft. Takumi spent a great deal of time taking care of his hair.  He washed it thoroughly, used sweet smelling oils to keep it smooth and shining, and Leo knew from the numerous combs he owned that he spent quite a lot of time combing it until it was perfect.

He wished Takumi would let him comb his hair for him. He had done Elise’s hair many times. Camilla had taught him to braid and do various other hairstyles simply because Elise demanded of him that he do her hair for her, not that he minded really.

It was good practice, practice for when Takumi would finally let him touch his hair.

He just didn’t know why the other prince was so reluctant.

Whenever he suggested that they bathe together, Takumi would look so eager to, but then he would stop, his face falling and he would shake his head, mumbling something about how he took a while and he wouldn’t want to bore him.

That alone was ridiculous. Leo found that if he was with Takumi anywhere, he was never bored. In fact, spending any bit of time with Takumi just reminded him of how much he adored the other boy, and he could feel the love in his chest growing by the second.

He was determined to get to the bottom of it, to figure out why Takumi was so hesitant about just one thing in their relationship.

First, he had tried to catch Takumi literally with his hair down. He had come into Takumi’s quarters one evening when he had been visiting Hoshido only to find that the other prince was hastily tying his hair up into a thick braid just as he came through the door.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” he had said said softly as he sat on the bed.

“N-no, I do,” Takumi had mumbled quickly, averting his gaze, “I um… I like sleeping with it up. It’s better this way.”

He had asked Oboro about Takumi’s habits a few days later, and she had confirmed that, no, Takumi never slept with his hair up. In fact, she told him that he liked having it down rather than up, but only when he was alone.

His next plan had been to try and convince Takumi with kisses and tickling fingers into his sides to let them take a bath together. They had woken up late that day, sleepy and surrounded by the warmth of blankets after a long night of being up in the library reading and playing several games of chess.

“Leo,” Takumi hummed softly when Leo slipped his hands to circle his waist, “What’re you- ah! _Leo_!” Leo grinned as the other prince actually squealed, gasping when he curled his fingers into his sides just slightly.

“Could you be slightly ticklish, Prince Takumi?” he cooed innocently, smiling down at Takumi where the boy had his face buried in his neck.

“Y-yes… Don’t you dare-! Ah! L-Leo- stop!” Despite his protests, Leo did not stop in the slightest, manipulating their intertwined bodies to press Takumi against the mattress, holding him there while his fingers curled and pressed and prodded at his lover’s sides, pulling high gasps and peals of laughter from his throat.

He loved Takumi’s laugh. It was bright and alive, accented by the shining light that was reflected in his eyes and the high blush that stained his cheek bones.

“Y-you are so- so dead, Leo!” Takumi gasped when he gave him a quick break from the laughter-inducing torment.

“Mm, really?” Leo hummed nonchalantly, smiling down at the flushed boy under him, “Too bad I’m not ticklish like you are.” He leaned in then, kissing Takumi’s forehead, then his cheeks, then finally connecting their lips. He licked Takumi’s mouth open slowly before he tickled him again lightly, laughing himself as he swallowed Takumi’s breathless giggles.

Once he was done with him, he had Takumi gasping and breathless with laughter, his chest heaving and lips kissed red by his own, but still when he _begged_ for Takumi to let them bathe together, his lips whispering the pleading words into his skin, the other boy had stiffened up and grown quiet before he shook his head, frowning and looking to the side.

He had let it go then, not wanting to push Takumi any further to cause him to grow irritated, but he wasn’t going to give up in the slightest,

They had been courting for nearly six months by the time he decided that enough was _enough_. Takumi was his lover, his partner, the boy he wanted to take into his arms marry and be with the rest of his life, and yet he still couldn’t experience a part of him that clearly meant a lot to him.

When he had inquired with Hinoka and Ryoma, they had both told him that Takumi’s hair was important to him. He had been inspired by their father, the late King Sumeragi, to grow his hair long, like a proper Hoshidan warrior. It was his pride and his dignity, his right as a Prince of Hoshido and a warrior all tied up into one long length of silver.

It hurt when Leo thought about it. Takumi wouldn’t let him into something was such a strong influence on his life, something that made him the person he was. It hurt and Leo hated it.

He decided that on Takumi’s next trip to Nohr, he would get to the bottom of everything. He would take Takumi into his arms, tug the ribbon from his hair, and hold him. Takumi just had to allow him, to let him in.

“Do you want me to show you the way to the baths, or do you remember?” he asked softly into the dim light of his own quarters. The maids had long since stopped setting up additional quarters for Takumi whenever he visited. They were never used except as a storage place for anything he brought with him in terms of clothes, and Leo own quarters were big enough to accommodate everything he owned.

“I don’t quite remember,” Takumi hummed as he tied the sash around the loose, silken robes he wore to sleep, “But I’m far too tired to bathe tonight, I’ll find myself there in the morning.”

“If you’re certain,” Leo murmured, coming up to wrap his arms around Takumi loosely, simply holding him at arms length so he could still gaze down at him, “You look lovely in this light,” he whispered, smiling at the boy in his arms as he leaned and kissed his forehead, brushing his bangs away gently so his lips would meet soft skin, “I was kind of hoping we could share the bath tonight, just you and me,” he breathed, feeling the way Takumi had been leaning into his chest only to freeze in his arms, “It’s what lovers do,” he continued, kissing Takumi’s temple, then above his eyebrow, then his cheek, “And I know you find the bath relaxing.”

“Leo I-” Takumi sighed quietly, and Leo prepared himself for the usual denial, “I just- I _can’t_. I-I’m really sorry.”

“Takumi, _please_ ,” he said in return, feeling his voice nearly crack with desperation on the words, “Please just- just tell me why? I love you, you know that right? Gods know I’ve told you enough times. I just don’t know what could be so shameful on your body that you would hide yourself from me. I love every part of you.”

“It’s just,” Takumi mumbled, looking down and moving back a bit, but Leo kept his arms firm, caging him close and dear, “I-I don’t- I don’t want you to see me as… as _feminine_.”

“Feminine?” Leo echoed, his eyes narrowing, “Why in the world would I ever think that of you? Please recall that I have seen you utterly naked, and there is nothing feminine about you in anyway,” he smiled, keeping his voice gentle as he tried to lighten the mood.

“There is,” Takumi said, and Leo saw the bob of his throat as he swallowed hard, “Whenever I came to Nohr in the beginning, a-all I ever heard was that- that I was considered _feminine_ by Nohrian standards, less of a man because of my hair and I- s-so many of your people already think that! Your soldiers and your brother’s advisers, they _all_ think that and I- I didn’t want you to as well…”

Oh.

Alright then. Suddenly, everything about Takumi’s behavior made sense, so much sense that it broke Leo’s heart. He thought he had loved Takumi enough, enough to make him realized that he loved and adored every part of him, but if Takumi was still so hesitant, so afraid of something so mundane as the thoughts of other people then he hadn’t truly done his job.

Takumi had made him feel better about everything he himself was insecure about: his strength compared to his brother, his favor within the kingdom, the love he deserved from those around him, everything.

And he hadn’t done enough of the same if Takumi was clearly struggling with this after so long.

“Takumi,” he breathed, breaking the silence between them. He could see the glaze of tears in Takumi’s eyes and he pulled him forward quickly, gathering him close against his chest, hugging him impossibly tight, “No, no, you’re so mistaken, Takumi,” he said hurriedly as he walked them towards the bed, tugging Takumi along with him, “I love everything about you, _everythin_ g. I have been longing for months to explore every part of you, but you would never let me and I- I feel so badly that you’ve felt this way for so long.”

“I-it’s not your fault,” Takumi started, but Leo silenced him swiftly with a kiss, scooping him up into his arms from a brief moment before he laid him down in the bed, moving to look over him from his side.

“You,” he smiled as he kissed Takumi’s lips again, “-are you going to listen to me for the rest of the night, alright? And I am going to show you just how beautiful I think you are.”

“Leo-”

“Hush,” Leo soothed before he reached up, his fingers pausing at the catch in Takumi’s hair ribbon. There was uncertainty and slight fear in his eyes and Leo was determine to wipe that away. Slowly, he pulled the ribbon away, letting Takumi’s hair pool around him against the pillows, long and sleek and glowing in the low light of the candlelit room.

“Leo-” Takumi tried to protest again but Leo silenced him once more, connecting their lips in a deeper kiss. As he coaxed Takumi’s mouth open, he slid one hand up from where it was resting against Takumi’s hip. He stroked his side through the thin fabric of his robe, pushing it off his shoulder just a bit so he could feel the firm muscle contained in Takumi’s arm. He pressed his fingers lightly at Takumi’s neck, feeling his pulse there, fluttering swiftly under his skin.

Finally, he buried his fingers in Takumi’s hair, stroking through the smooth, even strands with such reverence that he felt Takumi whimper out a sob into his mouth. When he pulled away from the kiss, he saw tears glistening in Takumi’s eyes, his lower lip trembling lightly.

“I beg of you, don’t _cry_ ,” Leo said fiercely before he could stop himself, feeling his own eyes stinging lightly, “This is for you, all for you, because I love you more than I can bear keep in my heart. I need to show you. I need to feel every bit of you. I have wanted to do this for so long,” he breathed, accenting his words with his fingers buried in Takumi’s hair again, stroking slowly through until he reached the ends, raising Takumi’s hair to his lips to worshipfully kiss it, inhaling the subtle scent of the flowery soap he knew Takumi used.

He pushed Takumi’s robes to the side more, exposing his shoulders and loosening the sash around his waist. He wanted to worship him, to kiss him everywhere until Takumi was boneless and filled with the knowledge that Leo loved and adored every bit of him. He started at Takumi’s neck, caressing his warm skin with slow kisses. He didn’t open his mouth against Takumi’s skin; it wasn’t his intention to mark him and destroy the perfection that lay before him.

Takumi’s hand moved then and Leo felt his fingers graze his own. He tangled their fingers together, holding tightly to him as he continued his way down Takumi’s body, kissing and stroking his skin as he went over every patch of skin he could reach.

He was kissing along Takumi’s hips, intending to go no lower, when he heard a quiet hiccup leave his lover’s throat. He looked up to see Takumi’s eyes, glassy and overflowing with tears, his cheeks helplessly flushed and his free hand pressed over his lips. His eyes were shining, not with sorrow but with such recognizable happiness that Leo felt the pain that had formed in his heart that evening upon Takumi’s confession disappear.

“Please tell me those are happy tears,” he smiled, shifting to move up again, nuzzling Takumi’s cheek sweetly before he raised their joined hands to his lips, kissing where their fingers touched.

“Mhm,” Takumi whimpered out, clearly too choked up to get words out, “Leo.” The sound of his name came out cracked with emotion, but when Takumi moved his hand away from his lips he was smiling, small and soft.

“Takumi,” Leo whispered in turn, kissing at Takumi’s damp cheeks, tasting the saltiness of his tears as he thumbed away the residual wetness, “I love you. I love you so much. You have to know that by now. You have to know that- that I could never love another, or think of you as anything but the man you are, the boy I fell in love with in the heat of battle, the Hoshidan prince I never imagined I would wind up loving with all my heart.”

“I know,” Takumi choked out, sniffling quietly before he smiled wider, his eyes catching both the light of the glowing candles and the light of his smile, “I know and I- I love you too, Leo. I love you so much and I… I’m sor-”

“If you apologize for this, I won’t kiss you anymore,” Leo huffed teasingly, laughing softly when Takumi’s parted lips pressed together quickly, “That’s better,” he crooned, “Now, I’m going to ask again, and I only hope that you will say yes this time… Will you grace with your presence in the bath come morning? Please, Prince Takumi?”

“Only if you show me the way there, Prince Leo,” Takumi giggled, sheepishness in his voice though he didn’t tear away his gaze like he usually did when he was embarrassed, “I truly did forget the way.”

“I will carry you there if I have to,” Leo agreed, laughing before he pressed his lips to Takumi’s for the thousandth time, unable to help himself from tasting his lips once more. He blew out the candle after that, pulling the thick blankets around their intertwined bodies.

Takumi fell asleep before he did, his breaths coming out slow and even against his neck. He couldn’t stop himself from repeatedly running his fingers through Takumi’s hair over and over again. He couldn’t believe he had missed out on such a beautiful part of the boy he loved for so long, and he knew he would never give it up again.

He fell asleep with his fingers in Takumi’s hair and awoke that way in the morning.

Takumi was sleepily stirring against him when he awoke and immediately he started his ministrations again, smiling at the content sound that left Takumi’s throat.

After a while of wordless contentment lazing away in bed, they were both awake enough to get up and, as promised, Leo led them to the bath.

“May I wash your hair for you?” Leo asked softly into the wet skin at the nape of Takumi’s neck from where the other boy was reclined against his chest between his legs, “Please?”

“Okay,” Takumi nodded easily, craning his head back to graze his lips along Leo’s chin, a sleepy smile on his lips. The smell of Takumi’s shampoo filled the room, mixing with the steam from the water to heighten the scent. He squirted some of the soap into his palm and slowly began lathering it into Takumi’s hair, leisurely scrubbing his fingers along the other prince’s scalp.

“Gods,” Takumi groaned in delight, letting his head fall back against Leo’s shoulder as Leo poured hot water over his hair, watching the suds from his shampoo wash away into the water, “I’m an idiot.”

“Why’s that?” Leo asked, amusement in his tone as he started to kiss along the line of Takumi’s shoulders again, mouthing against his spine where he knew Takumi was ticklish.

“B-because,” Takumi giggled at the touch of Leo’s mouth, “I find myself quite fond of your fingers in my hair already,” he admitted, blinking up at him with wet eyelashes, his bangs clumped together with wetness that continually rolled down the bridge of his nose, tapering off at his cheek to disappear at the edge of his jaw, “I may become too inclined to have you washing my hair instead of doing it myself.”

“I would not protest to that for a second,” Leo laughed in return, “I’ll give you anything you ask of me now that you have given me everything as well.”

Takumi hummed against his neck in pure contentment and in that moment Leo knew he was finally complete.

**Author's Note:**

> I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS FLUFF I can't belIEve
> 
> Thank you for reading my fluff and cuddles and snuggles and kisses ;;u;; I'll be back to your regualrly scheduled angst v soon <3 
> 
> Any comments and kudos are v appreciated and, like I said, I died writing this so there's no fear of making me die again with comments <3
> 
> as always find me on tumble at carbonfootprintao3.tumblr.com and on twitter @leokumi uwu
> 
> p.s. if you want to feel super fluffy go look up "Compass" by Oh Honey that's where the title comes from it's such a beautiful fluffy song of love and makes me think of leokumi 120% of the time


End file.
